


Sarah's Choice

by lw42



Category: Labyrinth (1986), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:15:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25531204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lw42/pseuds/lw42
Summary: What if Loki & Jareth had to compete for Sarah's attention?
Relationships: Jareth/Sarah Williams, Loki Odinson/Sarah Williams
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Legendary

**Author's Note:**

> \-----  
> Bear with me- the plot has a hold of my brain and even I don't know where it will go! If you like the concept, please let me know!  
> \-----

**Norway, 1865**

“Mummy, tell me about the mischief God again.”

Hanna Hansdottir smiled down at her daughter Johanna, snuggled under her woolen blankets for the night. She always asked for the same tale.

“Don’t you want to hear a story about Thor, God of Thunder, or Lady Sif the great warrior?”

“NO, mummy, the mischief God! Tell me about the mischief God and the faeries.” With an exaggerated sigh, Hanna tucked the edges of the blanket around her daughter and started the tale.

“You know that the Gods and Goddesses in great Asgard live many thousands of years longer than we do here on Earth, or Midgard as they call it. This happened hundreds of years ago. You know that there are nine realms all connected to the tree, Yggdrasil?” Johanna nodded, as she did every time. “Well one of those realms is Alfheim, the home of the light elves. The light elves are beautiful creatures, with pale skin and golden hair. One day, Prince Loki of Asgard,”

“The mischief God!” Johanna interrupted. Hanna grinned.

“Yes, the mischief God, decided to visit Alfheim to try and learn about a special spell that the elder light elves knew. You see Loki was known for playing tricks on others and using his magic to create illusions, and so he collected knowledge of magic from the other realms whenever he could. Loki knew many secret passageways from Asgard to the other realms, you see, and so he could visit them without anyone knowing.” Johanna gave a happy yawn as the story continued. “When Loki got to Alfheim, he met a beautiful light elf named Sigyn. He was taken in by her beauty right away and started to court her. Soon prince Loki asked to marry Sigyn, and she consented. Not long after, she was with child, and bore twins, a boy and a girl.”

This was the part of the story where Johanna usually started to get sleepy, and tonight was no exception. She yawned happily and her eyes started to droop. Hanna continued in hushed tones. “The children of Loki and Sigyn were not elven, nor were they Asgardian- the children crew up playing tricks on others and causing mischief, but was beautiful to look at, with pale skin and fair hair. When they came of age, they mated with other light elves, and started their own families. The children were always more mischievous and vicious than their pureblood cousins. The elders determined that Loki and Sigyn had in fact created a new race, which they called the Fae, or faerie folk. And that is the story of where faeries come from.”

Hanna finished the story out of habit; Johanna had fallen fast asleep. Eyes searching a bookcase next to her daughter’s bed, she found an old tome with well loved bindings. She paged through the book of stories until she reached the illustration of the beautiful but terrifying Norse God of Mischief. Johanna was too young yet for what followed- but the story had always captured Hanna’s imagination.

_As years passed, the light elves grew intolerant of their more ruthless kin, and the Fae moved to populate the dark and more dangerous forests of Alfheim. Loki brought Sigyn with him back to Asgard; master strategist that he was, he did not tell the All-father Odin or All-mother Frigga of the race he and his wife had created. It was his hope that he would some day have a loyal army of the Fae to command and support his ambitions._

_One day, while Loki and his brother Thor were attending their father in court, an angry man from Alfheim asked for an audience with Odin. The man claimed to be Fae, and a descendent of Loki and Sigyn. He explained that the Fae had been ostracized and demanded that Loki make amends. The arrogant prince scoffed at the Fae emissary and sneered at his demand._

_“Would you punish one who was generous enough to give one as you life? You should be bowing down before me, you insolent mongrel.” Angered at such treatment, the man took out a bow and arrow, quick as lightning, and struck not the arrogant prince, but his bride, in the heart. The arrow was made of iron, and so killed the elven princess as soon as it struck the vital organ._

_Loki was furious, and at once turned his rage against the Fae, but his rage was matched only by that of Odin All-Father, who now realized that Loki had been keeping this people secret from him. Loki was banished to the dungeons until his father could come up with an appropriate punishment for his insolence._

_After many days, the All-father called for Loki to address his crime. “You have lost your wife and companion, and that will indeed be a punishment for your deeds. Rather than additional punishment I give you prophesy, and your own actions will determine whether the future evolves for ill or for better. There is a young Fae child in Alfheim named Jareth Bjornson who has been found to be adept at the magical arts, and especially gifted at moving between the realms. When this child is of age, he will become the king of an area of Alfheim called the Underground and he will be tasked with locating the unwanted children of Midgard and recruiting them as subjects. He will disguise these children as ugly creatures called Goblins. It has been foreseen that to keep his kingdom and subjects safe, his castle will be protected by a massive labyrinth, that will change based on the whims of King Jareth.”_

_“Yes, yes,” Loki said impatiently, “I do not see how this has anything to do with me.”_

_“_ _Silence,” Odin boomed. “I am losing my patience with you, boy. You will listen.” Loki closed his mouth, under protest._

_Odin continued. "_ _Many years from now, a young Midgardian girl will wish her brother to the Goblin King in anger. When she regrets this decision, King Jareth will allow her to run the Labyrinth to save him. Her determination and drive will endear her to him, and he will fall in love with the girl. He will be unable to act on his feelings until the girl is older; and in that time you will encounter the girl and fall in love with her as well.”_

_“_ _Unlikely!” Loki couldn’t stop himself from interrupting. “With a MIDGARDIAN, how could I possibly-“_

_“LOKI!” Odin yelled again. “This is your fate, not an idle story for entertainment. You will face this Fae king and battle for the heart of the girl, and your actions will determine whether it is your making or your undoing.”_

_The All-father’s prophesy did not fall well on his son's ears, and this began Loki’s disdain of all Midgardians and their culture. If he did not meet the girl, the prophesy could not come true. He would avoid the realm entirely and prove Odin wrong. To this day, it is not known whether Loki has ever been back to Midgard, or Earth, and whether the prophesy has been set in motion._

Yawning and closing the book, Hanna smiled contentedly. She had read many narratives of Loki and Sigyn, some relating of their children being snakes or wolves, others telling horrific stories of Odin sewing Loki’s mouth shut to stop his manipulations. But this story was her favorite, the thought that he would need to face his past deeds was a pleasant thought. Dousing the bedside candle, Hanna kissed her daughter’s forehead and headed to her own chambers to dream about the legends of old.


	2. The Book

**Middletown, NY - 2009**

“Charlotte, you’re still sounding breathy when you deliver that line. Let’s try this.” Sarah approached her student and linked Charlotte’s hands together, then moved her clasped hands toward her stomach. “Hold your clasped hands in where you diaphragm is, it will help curb your anxiety and remind you to use the diaphragm to project.” This advice had been given so many times to so many students that if felt trite and repetitive, but it always worked like a charm.

“Wow,” Charlotte said, “That helps a ton, thank you!” Sarah smiled.

“Try practicing with that for next time, and we’ll see if it helps.” She smiled as she headed toward her desk, Charlotte gathering her things together. She exchanged the usual invoice for her student’s check and deposited it in the small safe for a run to the bank later in the week. Charlotte had been the last client of the day, and there were only a couple of calls to return that could wait until tomorrow.

Starting her own consulting business was the best thing she had ever done. She didn’t have anyone telling her what hours she needed to work, and the job was interesting and meaningful. She mentally lived in the world of reality and fantasy, and coaching allowed her to remain in both worlds. Her students had gone on to be great actors and actresses, motivational speakers, politicians. Usually they just needed her guidance to tackle their lack of confidence, methods to tackle their public speaking demons. Sarah was addicted to the rush that came from taking someone who was terrified of standing in front of the crowd and watching them transform into a persuasive leader who could hold an audience captive with their speech.

Catching the wall clock out of the corner of her eye, she winced; she was supposed to meet Melanie for drinks at 6:30, which was 5 minutes away. She grabbed her bag and locked the studio door behind her. The _Park Pub_ was a ten-minute drive to Main Street Middletown, the roads starting to show signs of traffic as commuters made their grueling way home from New York City. She was glad that the old ballet studio space had come up for lease so close to her town, so she could stay close to the City without the horrific commute.

RUNNING LATE BUT ON MY WAY, she texted Melanie. The response came quickly.

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? ORDERING FOR YOU. Sarah grimaced- Melanie was going to order her some crazy drink that was way more potent than it needed to be. Great. She made it to the restaurant and found street parking,

The Pub was packed, forcing her to shoulder her way through to get to the bar, where Melanie was already surrounded by a small group of people, and was chatting away. One of the things Sarah most admired about her friend was her ability to talk to anybody in whatever situation she was in. Sarah preferred her alone time, but Melanie thrived on the crowd. More often than not Melanie would drag her friend out to “have some fun for once,” despite Sarah’s protests. When she saw Sarah approaching, she gave an excited wave and called out.

“Hey sweetie, you made it!” Sarah grinned at her friend. “I did, just took a little time to close up. Did you get much of a head start?”

Melanie grabbed a narrow glass filled with ice and some kind of reddish orange liquid and handed it over the heads of her new friends toward Sarah.

“Your punishment, my dear.” Melanie grinned as Sarah eyed the concoction warily.

“Is there any point in asking what’s in this?”

“Nope! You just have to drink it and suffer.” Sarah sighed, took a breath, and knocked back the glass. It was actually pretty good, a sweet peach flavor without much alcohol taste. Dangerous.

“Yum,” Sarah said, almost immediately feeling the buzz kick in from the deceptively strong drink.

“Peach Bourbon,” Melanie answered, holding up her own glass. “If this doesn’t make you chatty tonight, I don’t know what.” They exchanged small talk, catching up on work and family. Melanie talked about a guy she met through the hospital where she was a nurse, and how they were going to hook up for drinks later that night. Sarah talked about her brother Toby and how he had just taken a job that had him travelling every week, to various offices in the US.

After an hour or so, they wandered toward the back of the pub, to a room that was segmented from the crowded main hall, and grabbed a quieter table toward the back.

“Yay, I can hear myself think,” Sarah commented. Melanie rolled her eyes.

“Yeah that’s what you need, is to think more.” She grinned at her friend. She was always giving Sarah a hard time for over-thinking things. “So hey, I have something for you.” Melanie reached into her bag and pulled out a red leather-bound book- one that Sarah recognized immediately.

“Labyrinth,” she breathed. “where did you find it?” She reached for the book and ran her hand reverently over the cover.

“In that little bookshop in town- weird, huh? I know you said you looked there when you found out it was lost. Anyway, I read it last night, remember how you used to tell us the story and pretend that it had actually happened to you?” Sarah swallowed, tamping down her own panic. _Breathe,_ she told herself, _clasp your hands over your diaphragm, it will reduce your anxiety._

“Oh, right, I remember,” she said. How could she forget? She had wanted her friends to believe that her adventure had actually happened, especially a close friend like Melanie- but they all decided that Sarah was just telling them a story, and chalked it up to her love of dramatic acting that she insisted the events had actually happened. Over time Sarah had acknowledged it as a story as well- who would believe the truth? She treasured the book but at some point, it had been lost- seeing it again was like a punch to the gut.

“I thought that the peach bourbon was appropriate,” Melanie snickered. Sarah smiled, trying to hide her emotions. She knew Melanie meant well, but the only thing Sarah felt like doing now was running home to re-read the book and lose herself in her memories. And she needed to tell HIM that she had found it…

Sarah made it another hour chatting with her friend, then yawned and made her exit, hugging her friend and promising to meet up again soon for details about the hot hospital guy.

Once she was alone in her car again, her heart started racing- she had the book again. It had been a 16th birthday present from her mother, one that she treasured more than anything else. Her obsession with the story had led to her careless use of the words when Toby was a baby; and was responsible for the Goblin King entering her life. The words had guided her through her harrowing journey, and confrontation with the man himself- breathtakingly beautiful and harshly mischievous at the same time.

When she was sent back home victorious, she learned that she could see her friends in the mirror, and indeed the mirror allowed them to visit her realm if she asked them to. Throughout her teen years and into her 20s, she would often call on her friends, sometimes because of a failure or disappointment when she needed support, sometimes just to celebrate a victory or stave off loneliness. Usually it was Hoggle and Didymus, with Ludo and Ambrosius wandering in the background; but as she grew older the Goblin King himself would make an appearance. In the beginning he would remain in his owl form, but over time he would appear as himself and tease his subjects mercilessly, while Sarah laughed and told them of her “Aboveground” adventures.

When she dated a guy seriously, when she was 23, she hid many of her fairy tale relics, including the book Labyrinth. When she broke up with him, she retrieved the box and found all of the items, except for the book in question. From that point on, she was able to talk to her friends in the Underground, but they were no longer able to visit. She searched everywhere for the book, but it had vanished.

As she grew older, she found herself appreciating the Goblin King (Jareth, he told her to call him) and his perspectives. Hoggle and Didymus had such a simple and childlike way of viewing the world, but Jareth would tell her his thoughts and opinions with realism and thoughtful contemplation. Many times, she would call on him alone, and they would have long conversations. He never seemed to age but stayed frozen in time. If she were honest with herself, he was the reason she didn’t date very much; it was impossible for the men she encountered in the real world to live up to the fantasy of the Goblin King. Secretly, she thought that if she could ever find the book, he might be able to visit her in person again, and she could find out if the Goblin King was still in love with the girl.

Her stomach flipped again- now she had the book, and she was turning into her driveway. She was potentially moments away from seeing Jareth in the flesh, in her house. In her room, for Gods sake.

She rushed inside the old Victorian house where she lived, pressing her foot against the door to lock it- one of the quirks of an old house. She rushed upstairs, clutching the book, stared into the mirror, and froze. She needed to change.

Frantically she dug through her closet and finally settled on a flowing white peasant blouse that showed a little bit of cleavage, and a purple and green embroidered skirt. There, very- bohemian? Sure, that worked. She raced to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and put on some lip gloss. _You’re 38 Sarah, get it together!_ She told herself.

Finally she sat again in front of the vanity, tracing the cover of the book and trying to get her nerves under control. She clutched her hands together, bringing them toward her diaphragm, trying to repeat her own advice to herself in her head. She faced the mirror and took a deep breath.

“Jareth, I need you,” she said, and watched the glass as a translucent form came slowly into focus, spiky blond hair, kohl rimmed eyes, and a mischievous grin.

“Well of course you do, darling,” he said, the response that had become a teasing habit for a number of years now. Sarah grinned, teasing him back.

“Did I interrupt a romantic tryst? Embarrassing moment?” he looked contemplative at her question.

“Well unless you count fishing a half dozen goblins out of the lake because they thought they saw something sparkle at the bottom and decided they could get rich as a romantic tryst, then no.” Sarah laughed, imagining the situation. “What is on your mind so late this evening that brings to you call for me?”

Sarah took a deep breath and held up the book.

“I found it, Jareth. The book. Well, Melanie found it. Maybe this will open up the gateway again?” Jareth’s eyes flashed with interest.

“Indeed, it seems the book has found its way back to you. Shall we test it?” Sarah nodded anxiously, more than ready to test the theory. “Close your eyes, Sarah,” he drawled. “and think very hard about the pathway being open.” She squeezed her eyes shut, and waited, wishing for the pathway to open. She heard rustling near the mirror, a whooshing noise, and then suddenly warm lips were on hers, and long fingers were tangling in her hair. She heard his voice rumble near her ear. “Finally, my Sarah. Finally.”


End file.
